Then There Were Three
by MrMsMingus
Summary: An un-seen moment between Joan and Arthur. Set between S3's Loving the Alien and Glass Spider. My best guess at when Baby Campbell was conceived. Mention of Annie and Auggie and indirectly Teo.


"So, how long are we gonna wait before we talk about last night?" Joan eyed her husband as he gathered his things to head home.

He tried to dismiss the question whilst fiddling with his cufflinks, "Oh, what's there to talk about?"

"I gotta trashcan full of plates that might jog your memory"

"That might have been a bit excessive."

"If you wanted off the short list, you chose a hell of a way to announce it."

"Well maybe I don't want it as much as I thought not if it meant selling out the agency."

"But it doesn't"

Arthur nodded and scrunched his nose like he smelled something rotten, "Jai's murderer is still out there"

Joan turned to follow him with here eyes as he moved from behind his desk to the conference table, "And the investigation will continue without you. Arthur, at some point, you're going to leave the agency and your going to have to leave something unfinished."

"Not this" Arthurs voice was intense and his eyes firm.

Joans brow furrowed as she put a hand on her hip and went on, "Why? I mean why now….why agree to be vetted, get this far down the line and then change your mind?"

Arthur shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, "I can't leave yet, Gottfried was right. To a military man desertion is the single worst accusation you can make" he stated as he pulled on his sports jacket.

"Since when did you care what some senator thinks? What's goin on here?" She waved both hands as she spoke before letting them rest at her sides.

Ignoring her question Arthur headed for the door expecting her to follow, "We better hit the road if were gonna miss the construction traffic on 66."

* * *

Beat the construction they did. While Joan was secretly disappointed they didn't get stuck, Arthur was secretly elated. Avoiding a conversation with Joan was easier when he had somewhere to go.

Neither said a word between when they left his office and walked in the front door. Arthur dumped his keys onto the end table by the door and headed upstairs.

"Arthur." Joan requested his attention when he arrived to the bottom of the staircase. One foot on the stairs, he paused and half-way turned to face her. "Are you hungry? There are leftovers from last night or I could…"

Arthur shook his head and interrupted. "No. I'm not hungry, you go ahead and do whatever you want. I'm just tired. It's been a long week." With that he turned back to head up the stairs loosening his tie as he went.

Trading his suit and tie for boxers and a t-shirt, Arthur listened as Joan shuffled around the kitchen. _Cooking and working on a way to approach me. _He groaned. _This conversation is going to be un-avoidable tonight. _He climbed into the bed and turned on CNN.

Twenty minutes into the broadcast he saw Joan appear in the doorway with a glass of scotch. She smiled at him with sympathy and handed him the smooth glass without saying a word. Taking it, he quietly thanked her, earning a nod in return. He sipped on his favorite alcohol as Joan went through her evening routine and got ready for bed.

Flipping off the bathroom light, Joan re-entered the bedroom in one of her silk night dresses. The silence and tension between them was tangible as she pushed the button on the side of the TV to turn it off.

Arthur finished off his scotch and set it on the night stand beside him and watched as Joan climb into bed and settled onto her left hip beside his extended legs where she could see his face. She extended her left arm over his legs and planted her hand onto the edge of the bed beside him. Her right hand propped dup on her hip she rubbed her thumb against her fingernail as she pondered how to start.

Giving him a chance to carry the conversation she stared at him in silence for a moment before realizing he wasn't going to open up by himself.

Cocking her head sideways, she broke the silence, "Ready to talk about it?"

"What do you want me to say Joan? That I am sorry for breaking your dishes?"

She sighed, "No, the dishes don't matter." She adjusted herself so she was sitting upright Indian style beside him, "Maybe start by explaining to me why you wanted this job in the first place?"

Arthur swung his head from side to side and blew air between his lips before meeting her eyes and responding, "It's an ambassadorship Joan. I mean, who wouldn't want that kind of position? It could have been a great opportunity I just…"

"Could've been? Arthur until you blew up at Senator Gottfried it was still a great opportunity, what changed?"

Arthur sighted and took her two small hands into his, "I want this job Joan, but not because I have failed at the one I have. I don't want an escape plan and I don't want to leave a mess for whoever comes behind me. You were right, when I do finally leave the CIA I will leave things un-finished, but….." He took a deep breath and shook his head, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before meeting her blue eyes with his again, "But….Joan….right now there are too many people relying on my support, relying on me keeping my word. It's just not the right time."

Joan nodded, "I didn't realize how much his words offended you." She reached up a hand to caress his face, "Arthur, I will always back you, no matter what you decide, and I am so proud to be married to a man who cares as much about what he leaves behind as what he moves on to. It is what makes you great at what you do" She leaned in and pressed a kiss onto his lips.

Arthur cupped her cheeks and held her forehead against his. Joan grabbed onto his forearms, "But Arthur, your gonna have to replace those plates."

"I thought you said they didn't matter"

"Well, they were my favorite."

He chuckled and kissed her back, "I'm sorry about the plates. I promise to replace them."

Joan nodded and pulled her head away from his, taking his hands from her cheeks and holding them in her own, "And you owe me big time for playing hostess all night for no reason. Because you of all people know how much I hate small talk, and storytelling, and…" Arthur shut her up with a long passionate kiss. It left her breathless and panting as he flipped her under him and started a trail of kisses from he skin behind her ear to her collarbone, "How about I start making it up to you, right now?"

Joan let out a breathless chuckle and opened her eyes to meet his as he hovered over her, "I suppose now is as good a time as any for you to start."

"I thought I already started?" he said coyly as he came down onto her.

* * *

Arthur was still tangled with his sleeping, naked wife when the ringing of his cell phone awakened him. Carefully moving away from Joan, he reached for the source of the noise on the nightstand. It was Auggie calling on his emergency line. Arthur quickly jumped out of bed and ducked into the closet. Closing the door he answered in a low whisper trying not to wake Joan, "Auggie?"

_"Yes, sir. I'm sorry to wake you sir."_

"This had better be damn worth it, what is wrong?"

_"Annie and I found Jai's safehouse. He was working on a project off-books. You need to come see this."_

"Right now?" Pulling his phone from his ear, he checked the time, "It is 3am." That is when the worry and panic set in, "Anderson, did he find out about Te…..?"

Auggie cut him off, _"No, but we think you should come down here."_ Auggie emphasized the word we and Arthur realized Annie could hear the conversation.

"Okay, text me the address, I am on my way."

He hung up and pulled on slacks and a pullover. Reading the address from Auggie he dropped his phone into his pocked and slid into a pair of shoes before opening the door.

Joan stood right outside the closet door waiting for him, dressed in only his t-shirt from the night before. Seeing her there startled him. Arthur jumped and put a hand over his chest, "Geez Joan."

"What is going on? It is 3 o'clock in the morning."

"I'm sorry Joan, I tried not to wake you, but I have to run out for a bit."

Her eyes scanned him from head to toe, "I see that. What is going on?"

Arthur maneuvered past her and reached for his wallet on the dresser, "Auggie found Jai's safe house. He and Annie went to check it out and they found something that couldn't wait till morning."

"Something about who killed him?"

Arthur shook his head and grabbed her shoulders, "Maybe, I honestly don't know." He kissed her forehead, "Go back to bed. I will call you once I know what we are dealing with. Leave your phone on."

"Okay. Be careful Arthur." She leaned into him and brushed a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you."

"I love you too." Arthur said as he let go and headed out of the bedroom. "I will call you in a few hours. Try to sleep" He yelled at her as he headed down the stairs.

Joan listened as his car started and rolled down the street before climbing back into bed. _Go back to sleep? Not happening._ She just tossed and turned for over an hour before her phone finally rang.

She picked up the device and quickly answered it, "Yeah?"

"I'm on my way to pick you up. Auggie is with me, we will be there in half an hour."

"Okay, I will be ready…where is Annie?"

"Packing up Jai's intel. She will meet us at Langley."

"Alright, I'll see you guys soon."

Hanging up she sprang out of bed and started getting ready for the day as quickly as she could.

* * *

_**So, I went on a fandom rampage this weekend trying to figure out when baby Campbell was conceived. Pregnancy is 40 weeks. December 17**__**th**__** is her due date which means the baby was conceived in early March. Cool except the episodes don't really indicate what month it is. So, the writers said at the season break she was 5 months. They also said she found out late, so around 12 weeks. Season 4 started the morning after Season 3, therefore baby Campbell was conceived in season 3. But when in season 3? Well, lets keep working backwards. The mission with Eyal in total was about 2 weeks. Annie was in Russia for about a week before she got caught. Annie was in prison for 2 weeks. So when Annie got caught in Russia, Joan must have been 7 weeks. They don't tell us how long Annie was out, but heart surgery requires 6-8 weeks recovery. Lets assume, because its Annie, that she only did 6 weeks before heading off to Russia. That puts us at 1 week. Things with Joan and Arthur weren't great at this point. Arthur is thinking about going to Beijing, Joan hates the idea but is being supportive. They invite the senator over, Arthur goes all Hulk man, then they find Jai's lair and the mission with Simon and the downfall of Annie begins. Based on all of this, I believe baby Campbell was conceived between Loving the Alien and Glass Spider. I went with the night Arthur got pulled out of bed at 3am to go meet Annie and Auggie because it fits the timeline and it is the last time they were actually home and in decent moods during this weekish timeframe.**_

_**So there ya go. Fandom overload. **_


End file.
